Sampa Apologises to ECZ Over False Polling Station Claims

Matero PF Member of Parliament Miles Sampa has issued a formal apology to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for falsely alleging that a fake polling station operated along Lilayi Road during the Chawama by-election.

Sampa had claimed voters were being transported from Chilanga to an illegitimate polling station—allegations the ECZ has firmly rejected.

In a statement issued Sunday, Sampa acknowledged his error and pledged to verify such information with ECZ before making future public statements.

"The ECZ has demanded an apology for my statement that there was a fake tent-mounted polling station along Lilayi Road, which they say was not true," Sampa said.

He explained that residents alerted him to the suspected irregular station around 10am on voting day. After a PF official visited the site and reported not recognising the station from previous Chawama elections, Sampa raised the alarm. However, when he later visited the location, ECZ officials and police confirmed the station was legitimate.

Sampa remained suspicious even after witnessing the vote count at the tent station that evening, where UPND's candidate received 74 votes, Bright Nundwe got 7, NCP received 4, and other candidates received none.

"I thought at that rate our candidate was going to lose badly," Sampa admitted. His concerns eased after observing results from Misisi, Kuomboka, Chawama Central and Kuku areas, which heavily favoured Nundwe.

Taking full responsibility for the misinformation, Sampa said: "Having been misled to state publicly that the tent polling station was fake when it was not, I formally render an apology to the ECZ. Next time when informers give me such information, I will first call Mr Brown Kasaro of ECZ to verify the allegation before issuing any statement."